British Library puts literary treasures online

LONDON (AP) — The British Library is putting hundreds of its most valuable literary resources online, from the Bronte sisters' childhood writings to William Blake's notebook.

The new website features digital versions of 1,200 handwritten manuscripts, diaries and letters from Romantic and Victorian writers including Charles Dickens, William Wordsworth and Jane Austen.

The highlights include the largest collection of the Brontes' earliest writings, such as miniature, illustrated story books; an early draft of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest"; and a notebook containing Blake's drawings and drafts for poems like "The Tyger."

The collection, unveiled Friday, also includes original documents from the time the authors lived in — such as newspaper clippings and an 1838 theater playbill for "Oliver Twist" — to bring the period to life for readers.